Аннотация:The report is focused on the comparison of the West-European and Russian approaches to error prevention. It is shown that in western tradition the general trend in error prevention is the following: from concentration on working units (stations), where preventive actions were done in order to improve technical devices (Machine improvement) and to make available means of individual protection (Individual level) - to more global approach, where the functioning of working units is analyzed in the whole organizational context in order to organize and maintain the effective and safe work of an organization (Organizational improvement). In Russian approach the error prevention means understanding the mechanisms of changing in human states and their influence on work performance on the base of professiographia” methodology (the principles of complex job analysis for investigation of work reliability and safety in connection with specificity of job demands. The principles of the professiographia methodology could be compared with the possibilities of western error management approach.